Self and edwin r



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HUBERT W. MORGAN, OF WESTFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO HIM- SELF ANDEDWIN R. LAY, OF SAME PLACE, AND JAMES T. MORGAN, OF

WIN STED, CONNECTICUT.

PREPARATION OF WHALEBONE.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 261,623, dated July '25,1882,

Application filed February 3, 1882. (No specimens.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HUBER/1 W. MORGAN, of Westfield, in the county ofHampden and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new 5 and usefulPreparation of Whalebone, of which the following is a description andspecification.

My invention has forits object the preparation of whalebone in a more orless liquid form, so that it may be used either in a some- IO what thinsolution as a sizing, and applied to articles in one or more coats togive such articles elasticity and toughness, or it may be used in a lessliquid form, or of the consistency of a more or less thick paste, and

mixed with other articles either in av pulp form or in a powdered formpressed into any desired shapeby means of suitable dies. For thispurpose I use the shavings, cuttings, and waste pieces of whalebone,such as are found in most large whip-manufactories and otherestablishments where the working of whalebone is extensively carried on,and which are now thrown away or used for land dressing as unfit for anypurpose connected with the arts; and I take any alkali prei'erably thatknown in commerce as potash; as being both available and cheap-anddissolve it in water in any desired proportions to make a strongsolution of the potash. I take any desired quantity of this potashsolution-say a quart-aud heat it, and place therein, say,

a half-pound of the 'Whalebone cuttings or shavings, more or less,according to the consistency of the mixture desired, and when thusheated the potash solution will quickly dissolve the whalebone-shavings,forming a sizing or liquid whalebone which may be applied to any articlewith a brush in any desired number of coats, each coat being driedbefore another is applied.

For different purposes in the arts this liquid preparation of whalebonewill be required to be of various degrees of consistency, ac-

cording as the fancy and the purpose of the person using it may require,and it this preparation is applied to any substance which iscomparatively non-elastic it will be rendered permanently elasticthereby. Take as an example the manufacture of whips, of which the tipportions of the better class are made of whalebone strips. These stripsmust be of the best quality and free from checks or seams, and

in being worked down to the proper form and size there is a great waste.Instead of making these tips of the solid whalebone, I may make 5 themof strips of leather of the proper form and size, and then apply anydesired number of coats of this liquid preparation of Whalebone to theleather tips, which will thereby be rendered permanently elastic, andthe cost will be but a very small proportion of the cost of the solidwhalebone tips; or, instead of making the tips of solid leather, I maymake the whalebone preparation of a much thicker eonsisteney-that of athick paste-and of asomewhat plastic character by adding a largerquantity of the whalebone cuttings or shavings to the given quantity ofthe pot-ash solution, and then adding thereto fine cuttings of leatheror leather ground up into a pulp, so that the whole mixture may besufficiently tough and hard to take the form of a die, and I may thenform these tips by pressing this leather-and-whalebone mixture in diesmade for that purpose. Tips so made will possess 7 all the elasticityand toughness required, and equal to whalcbone tips, with a great savingin the cost of manufacture.

This mixture is equally applicable to many uses in the different arts,and may be made at a very trifling cost, as the immense amount ofwhalebone waste in cuttings and shavings produced in all large whaleboneworking establishments is now thrown away as worth less, and by the useof this invention all this waste may be made available in the productionof elastic articles from material which is not in itself elastic, and isvery much cheaper than whalebone. This solution of whalebone may haveadded to it any desired water-proof 9o substanee--such as gum shellac orother desired substance of similar natureso that when applied it willresist the action of moisture or dampness.

Having thus described my invention, what 5 I claim as new is- A newcompound or liquid'preparation of whalebone., consisting of whaleb onedissolved in an alkali, substantially as hereinbefore described.

, HUBERT W. MORGAN.

Witnesses:

T. A. CURTIS,

CHAS. H. WOOD.

